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Tagged with pregnancy

My previous two pregnancies didn’t have much-to-do with nesting tendencies before baby came. Things are mostly the same here with this newbie on the way, except for today. For whatever-forsaken reason, I -needed- to do 6-7 loads of laundry and completely attempt to organise our downstairs landing.

To be clear, I usually shy away from doing house work at the best of times. Laundry piles up. Boxes stay put until by necessity (or insanity) must be moved/organised. Typically this type of stuff is not chosen by yours truly to engage in. Today, there was no way I could not choose to clean that landing. Hence why it seems a bit of an anomaly in my typical routine.

Unfortunately I haven’t any ‘before’ pictures. This was likely an unconscious self-preservative motive, as showing that much of my crazy to the public world might just put me over the edge. But in the process of sorting that landing area, I ventured out of norm and entered into something I don’t normally choose. I attribute this to pregnancy nesting.

This is clean, folks. Get used to the idea.

This landing had boxes piled upon piles and more boxes. The box in the corner is actually empty except for a bag of garbage. This box, folks, had previously hosted a plethora of items from our previous car, which we sold over a year ago. Now that I’ve thrown out the junk, I’m making Andy sort through the ‘keeper’ box while the kids have a bath.

The boots box in the picture will go into storage as soon as we wash those boots and re-apply the ‘keep the water out’ stuff we have somewhere. I might delegate that one too *ahem*.

The white box in the green grocery bag is Andy’s stuff that he’s scared to sort through cause it’s crap he doesn’t use anymore but holds to himself sentimentally (for no good reason, in my books). It’s not even pictures, or nostaligic items, really. It’s computer parts. Ones we don’t use and likely won’t. Everything else in the picture is basically slated to be given away. This nearly truly leaves this landing clear, which it hasn’t been since June 22nd, 2012 (our move-in date to this house). So I’m thrilled that this nesting thing actually did something useful.

Oh, and while I was sorting all the boxes that were there, I came across a box that was filled with winter/fall/spring jackets for Cassia. I was a little overwhelmed when I read they were all 18 month size (what she’s mostly fitting currently) until I realised I could just give the majority of them away. So that’s what I’m doing. Then Cassia saw them and -had- to have one put on. Then she plopped herself down in front of the front door and whined at me cause I wasn’t letting her outside. Yeah, right, babe. Not when I’m in a nesting kick. Sorry. Ain’t gonna happen (apparently). Oh well. After about 30 minutes she allowed me to take the jacket off and hang it on her hanger. I think she was also overheating, which wasn’t helping her mood.

So now I’m all curious if this nesting thing will hit again before the end. Will I make meals for when the baby comes? Will I actually focus on cleaning another room? Will I completely turn the den into my aromatherapy office? Or will I, like usual, sit on my butt and attempt to forget that housework exists in this place? I’m guessing the latter, but I’ll keep you posted if that’s not the case.

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1.

We have had an amazingly warm week here. All the snow is now melted from our front yards! And there isn’t really much left in the back yard either. We have been outside much, which is awesome. There is a little girl a couple doors down from us who is about the same age as Cassia, and now that it’s nice out, we get to visit with her and her mom and see them more often! Winter sure shut up our opportunities for meeting people in our neighbourhood.

She shoveled that water for 45 minutes. Completely entertained herself.

He sat and played in this grass pile I raked and entertained himself for 30 minutes. Complete bliss.

2.

We even cleaned off the deck and had a lunch outside this week. I mean, what’s not to love about this weather? OK, well, truth be told, the wind has driven us indoors the past two days. Just on the other side of the block from us they are developing a new neighbourhood from a farmer’s field. So it’s flat and all dirt, which means that when the wind hits it, all the dust/dirt gets blown into our street (cause the wind almost always comes from that direction). I must say, it ain’t fun when you get attacked by a dirty wind whilst attempting to take a child out of a car seat. Pebbles in the face aren’t exactly what I call fun. I’m too old for that kind of ‘fun’. Now I get my kicks from … baby?

3.

Speaking of baby, I still have one in the tums.

Andy started taking too many pictures…

35 weeks now. And baby is sure fond of kicking. Recently started punching too. My right hip bone has never known such violence, and it’s awkward to react to the sudden hits while in public. Nothing like striking a random pose in an attempt to thwart the sudden fist on your hip bone while surrounded by people… “Oh, er – hi…why did I suddenly thrust my right pelvic area in your general direction, you’re wondering? Um, well, it’s not what you think…you see, the baby inside is punching me…”

The other two kids never did this. This kid knows how to make me uncomfortable already.

4.

I meant to mention this last week, but amidst all the hair re-design of my husband’s, it didn’t make it in. We finally have our new blinds up in the den! We’ve only had them parked in their boxes there since January, so that’s a win, right?

The ugly old ones that never opened or closed properly.

New ones! With a creepy-moustache-husband to go with them!

5.

I attempted gluten-free, low carb muffins from a pinterest find this past week. I have to say, I wasn’t terribly impressed. I have a post nearly ready to go describing in detail what happened, but I’m hoping that there’s a better recipe out there. I’d make them again, but as a last resort.

6.

Did you know that next week is Holy Week? Am I the only one who is a little astonished that Lent ends in less than a week? It’s Palm Sunday this week, folks!

7.

At the Mom’s Group that I attend, Fr. Colin came to chat with us, and decided he’d try to do lectio divina with us. Actually, it worked out fairly well (God was watching out for us, maybe. The kids aren’t usually so quiet and content). It was on the first reading from Tuesday, which was from Numbers 21: 4-9:

From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!”

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.”
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Now, this is a pretty classic read. Maybe this reveals a little more about me than is wise, but as soon as I heard that God sent serpents on them, I started laughing to myself. As I looked around our group I noticed that everyone else had sombre faces, listening intently, and taking it seriously. Perhaps they have more composure, or maybe they’re just in a better place spiritually to read into it with more meaning. I, however, utterly enjoyed the fact that God was not pleased with his children and so he gave them something to complain about. ‘Didn’t like the manna, did you? Think it’s hot and dry out? Well, how about I give you some poisonous serpents to keep you company in your misery, you sorry sods.’ Is this because I relish that God punished his people? No. Au contrair, it fully reminds me of how I feel towards my children several times a day. And yet, when Moses calls God on it, God is all like, ‘Aw, yeah. I love you guys. Here, go make yourselves healthy again.’ But take note – God doesn’t take the serpents away, he just gives the Israelites a way to heal themselves after being bitten. Like a little reminder, ‘Hey, don’t forget to have gratitude peeps.’

If I were to seriously look at this passage, the first thing I’d note is that being in a hot desert with limited water and just manna would be a source of complaint for me. But thankfully, through Jesus, I am not at the receiving end of divine punishment for my fall from grace. I have been offered “living water” and I accept with gratitude this mercy. It gives me the freedom to look back and chuckle on the way things were once, and yet I know that it is only through grace that things have changed in my favour. And it’s a reminder to me that I need to reflect that mercy that God shows to me, especially to my children. Even when they gnash their teeth and complain bitterly about how things are (note to self – do not send poisonous snakes).

But I think Jesus appreciates a chuckle every once in awhile too.

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1.

I just made the best mushroom soup I think I may have ever made. And apart from quantity of mushrooms, it’s so easy. Based it off of Chef Michael Smith’s recipe; didn’t have a bottle of red wine around, so used 1/2 cup of brandy instead and bumped up the stock. Soooo delicious. Perhaps the 2lbs of mushrooms have something to do with it, but I’m pleased! Interested in trying it with red wine; definitely wouldn’t have thought of a red to splash it with.

2.

I’m finally starting to look into homeschooling resources. Andy and I aren’t set on homeschooling (yet), but I definitely have a strong preference leaning towards it. I think at this point one of my main concerns is finding out where I can carve out ‘away’ time still from the kids; something I desperately need each day and which will only get harder with another coming in May. One way or another, it will be a challenge I’ll have to face, whether or not we homeschool.

And I definitely have to say that the freedom for creativity appeals greatly for me in homeschooling. There are so many opportunities we can do that just wouldn’t be possible in a classroom (many of them include field trips to learn about things – like to farms, historic sites, etc. Traveling around to learn would be -awesome-!) And I am a huge advocate for hands-on learning, which I think is the best way for most people to learn, having theory come after hands-on experience when needed.

3.

I’ve planned out a new section for our garden. So, of course I went all hay-wired on the details, which never turn out exactly when it becomes reality. It should be pretty cool though, if some of it works out, and smell pretty. Smelling pretty is high on my desirability of my garden, apparently. I love beautifully scented flowers. But I also want food to eat. It’s a delicate balance, it would seem.

4.

33 weeks pregnant: Feels bigger than it looks. And 33 weeks is calculated by our understood conception date; 32 weeks if using ultrasound. I’ve been feeling Braxton-Hicks contractions all this week; some worse than others. I just remember walking up the stairs one night after putting one of the kids down thinking, ‘Wow, I could ram a wall with this hard rock!’ as a contraction hit and my belly tightened like crazy. Sumo belly mode. Somehow I don’t think I’ll find that as funny as I do now when labour actually hits.

5.

Gestational diabetic. Confirmed. I get to pokey poke for blood 4 times a day (oh yay). So far I have discovered that my body does not like oatmeal nor does it like jam on toast, even in just a half-piece (in terms of blood-sugar behaving itself). I’m still working on figuring what foods it responds best to. So far tortilla chips are on the menu 🙂

I talked with my doctor today – she can still deliver the babe if I end up needing to be on insulin, but somewhere along the lines she said that it would mean that I would need to be induced for the due date. I have a yellow flag up for that. And something about concerns over amniotic fluid and whether it is sufficient in quantity by 40 weeks. Anyone else have experience in this? I think I’ll be doing some google-research on this to vet out the concerns with using insulin. I’m hoping I can make due without it (my blood-sugar tests were only slightly elevated, not crazy elevated), but I don’t know what this body of mine will do before the end and it just might not be possible.

6.

Hair. Bangs. So done with it all. The bangs were fun for the first few weeks, but holy moly do they take way more time than I otherwise would give my hair in the morning! And even though I love the colour I had my hair dyed to, as it’s growing out I have a new-found love for my boring normal ash colour hair – it hides grey like awesome. I totally did not know that I had so many grey hairs before I dyed it; now the grey shines forth like a lamp in the night against the dark brown. And at this point in my life I’m not a type of person who wants to dye my hair to cover the grey. That sounds like too much work (not to mention money). And apparently my natural hair colour does a good job of it anyway. So now it’s just the waiting game. I’ll still love it while I have it, but I’m looking forward to having my ‘normal’ hair back after this grows out.

7.

I finished reading The Hobbit yesterday and it just confirmed that I sure love that book. Andy and I are hoping to read it to Spencer later this year; I think he’d love it, and he seems to be doing crazy-awesome with imagining things from chapter books that we are currently reading. I never would have expected it from the-boy-who-has-endless-energy, but he loves listening to stories. I’m so thrilled he loves books and reading already! Hopefully it keeps up. I’m still hoping Cassia will start to like books…she’s young yet, right? We’ll make a believer out of her.

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37 weeks and counting! And just to give some clue into how big one can get during this time, here are some photos over the past week and a half or so. I’m also trying to keep track to see if I can visibly see when baby drops.

September 3rd

September 7th

September 8th

September 9th

September 13th

2.

Andy’s mom has been here all week helping to watch Spencer so that I could get some unpacking done. She has been such a God-send! Apart from a few more meltdowns than normal, he’s done pretty good with having someone else care for him while I’m still in his vicinity. It’s a good thing Grandma likes reading books, cause he’s definitely taking advantage of that as much as possible! I’m still amazed at how much this kid can read. It’s almost more than I do…

3.

On the note of having help around, I am finally making good progress on that spare room, which is such a relief! I can actually picture it as a room again, and not just a junk drop. As my brother indicated to me on a status on facebook, “or possibly, as you get deeper into the room, turn into a snowy forest???” That’s really how bad it was – could hardly see past the piles of boxes! Unfortunately, I haven’t found any snowy forest yet. It’s a little disappointing.

4.

I canned peaches this week and made peach butter, which I can tell you is absolutely amazing. Apart from often forgetting either the order of events or skipping a step then regretting it slightly, it went really well. I had about 10 lbs to get through and only two went mouldy by the the time I got to them. I’m thinking of possibly making blueberry jam this weekend. It’s my dream to have a pantry full of blueberry jam. I sure love that stuff.

5.

Andy and I went on a date last night. It was pretty crazy awesome! He had managed to swindle a gift card from some unsuspecting patron (I’m sure) earlier this year, so we headed to that restaurant for supper. I have to say, even though I’m gestational diabetic, I may have indulged. Just a little. The peanut butter chocolate cake that finished the meal off was dee-licious! We then went to go see Men in Black 3 at the cheap theatre. It was a pretty good movie, and I’m glad we spent the money on it (all $8). It was a good thing we were so full from supper; we couldn’t spare any room for popcorn. Sad truth, but probably better for my diabetes. And Andy’s belt line.

6.

My friend Kate is coming over this weekend to whip our house into shape. Apparently she wants us there too, though. I’m looking forward to her help at organising some very disorganised areas in our place. Slowly, very slowly, this house is unpacking into our home. It feels really good to find proper places for the stuff. We are also shedding bunches of items that just don’t fit. We thought we did a good job before packing; it would seem we need more pruning still.

7.

Whenever I’m outside I get to hear the crunch of the autumn leaves under foot, and I’m loving it. The leaves are changing, the temperature is moderately warm, the mornings are brisk, and the sun shines. I love this time of year!

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Hurray! I’ve made it to the start of the 9th month of pregnancy as of September 1st! Joy! Here’s hoping this babe keeps baking until 37 weeks (at least)!

Our Labour Day weekend has been full, so very full. Between deciding to buy a shed (which may or may not be installed before winter) and having Rona not actually have the pre-made packages (or be aware that they were in the flyer), purchasing and installing shelves into our den wall, and spontaneously purchasing an upgrade of a TV which, it turns out, is twice the size of our current TV and seems to weigh that of a baby elephant, it’s been full.

We also headed out to a park today and enjoy the beautiful Labour Day weather – sunny and warm with a nice consistent and cool breeze. It was perfect for kite flying, so that is what we did. And we kicked the soccer ball. And, of course, Spud played on the playground. Apart from the TV not fitting in our car, it’s been a great day. Finished with burgers and fresh corn from the Farmer’s Market. The Mennonites make great corn. I highly recommend their corn (and their eggs are a good price too).

Back to the TV, have you ever purchased something and then thought, ‘What am I getting myself into?’ Well, that happened today. A couple days ago Andy and I had a brief conversation about our TV and how frustrating it has been that we cannot find a remote that works with it, no matter how many we’ve tried. So we talked about maybe getting a new TV, sure we could find something cheap on Kijiji that would fit our needs. Andy also mentioned that we might as well look for something a little bigger, given that we’re ‘upgrading’. Well, I don’t know if Andy took that conversation seriously, but I did. So I found something. $40, 36″ flatscreen TV. We should have at least measured how big the thing might end up being. Today we went to pay and pick it up (after testing the remote and picture), discover it’s also HDTV capable (huge plus for the price) and that it’s nearly the size of a bear. Huge thanks goes out to Aron and Denise, whom we are starting to stack up ‘I owe you’s to. They came to our rescue with a vehicle that could actually fit the beast, and Andy and Aron managed (somehow) to haul the thing up the stairs and into our living room. It currently sits on our previous TV stand, which Andy and I think is making a heroic effort in holding up this beast, even if it is a little weak in the knees. We might need a new TV stand soon…

Now it sits in (or should I say dominates?) the living room and I’m finding myself rearranging the whole space (including the dining room, which is open-concept adjacent) in order for it not to look ‘too big.’ I’m not sure if I’ll succeed, but we upgraded for the same price that we’ve been paying for new remote controls over the past 2 years for the other TV. That’s gotta be a win, right?